BOOK REVIEW: ONE OF US IS LYING BY KAREN M. MCMANUS

(Thanks to Penguin Random House, and Delacorte press, I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

AndSimon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

MY THOUGHTS:

There has been so much buzz about this book in the last year, that when I learned the author was from Cambridge, MA (basically my neighbor) and the publisher reached out I KNEW I had to give this one a go. I’m honestly so upset with myself for waiting so long to read it, because it had everything I love in a psychological thriller. The synopsis gets it best, The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars is the most perfect description for this one!

I love that you get to read from each of the four main characters’ perspectives. First we have Bronwyn who was super uptight throughout the beginning of the book, but when she loosens up wow, she becomes one of my favorite characters. She absolutely shocked me with many of her actions, and I loved reading from her perspective. Next we have Addie who seemed like just a sweet little thing following the “in” crowd when the story starts out, but we soon learn that she has a lot to offer the story. Nate is our typical “bad boy” who I just hated to love (or did I?). Cooper was one of those characters I couldn’t see myself loving when I met him, but wow he absolutely changes my mind when the story unfolds. Then we have Simon, the deceased who we don’t get to actually hear from. We learn bits and pieces at just the right times throughout the book to keep the mystery going when it comes to him.

If you are looking for a book you can’t put down, because you just NEED to know what’s going to happen next, this one is for you. I love how you are dropped these tiny hints throughout the book that unravel in the most mysterious ways. I in no way saw what was coming and I loved it!!